Warning: No Guardrails
by Matt Perrett
Summary: A beautiful and touching ending...ruined because Cid couldn't be bothered to install some basic safety features. This story now has a semi-sequel for Final Fantasy X-2's ending, "Parking Violation".


Sin slowly fell from the sky as Yuna danced her final dance. The titanic monstrosity suddenly exploded into an enormous orange mass of pyreflies that seemed to cover the entire night sky, wringing gasps of shock, amazement and a thousand other emotions from the throngs of onlookers who had gathered to witness the end of their eternal tormentor. High above the cloud, visible only to those riding the world's lone airship, the aeons dissipated as well, finally released from their endless servitude. Far away, unseen by human eyes, the color bled out of the composite fayth that dreamed the dream of Zanarkand. The watery pillar that rooted their combined essences to this world sank to the earth and coalesced into a perfect sphere, which in turn evaporated into tiny bubbles of light and sound. Through it all, Yuna danced.

Tidus glanced down at his hands and, seeing the deck of the ship through a distorting rainbow, knew that the end he had expected was finally coming for him. Looking up, he saw that Yuna had finished her dance and was staring at him with wide, unbelieving eyes. The rest of their companions, distracted by the spectacle of Sin's death, had not yet noticed that something was amiss, and Tidus was grateful for it.

Yuna shook her head fiercely, still unwilling to accept the inevitable loss of the man she loved. A million things she wanted, _needed_ to say raced through her brain, but she could only whisper "No," as if the word and her will could undo the sending she had just performed.

Bracing himself for the difficulty of what he had to say, Tidus put his hands on his hips. "Yuna," he said sadly, "I have to go." His voice cut through the crisp midnight air and broke the others out of their spell. They turned to him with questioning eyes, not understanding what was happening.

Yuna shook her head again, closing her eyes to block out the pain and tears. This time, she found herself unable to say anything at all.

Now that Tidus had an audience, he felt the few words he had rehearsed slipping out of his grasp, turning what had once been difficult into a nearly impossible task. His thoughts fell on a promise he had made long ago, at the start of their journey, that he would never be able to fulfill. "I'm sorry I couldn't show you Zanarkand," he said at last, his voice full of regret. Wakka reached out a hand for him, but the young athlete backed away nervously, unsure of what would happen if anyone touched him or how the others would react. He turned and strode towards the front of the ship, attempting to cut short an already long and painful goodbye. He could feel Yuna's heartbroken gaze on his back, and he paused to glance over his shoulder at his friends one last time. "Goodbye," he stated with an air of finality, and then continued to walk purposefully away.

"We're gonna see you again...?" Rikku called uncertainly as she took a step towards her friend.

Yuna stared at her lover's departing form in stunned silence, her mouth hanging open as she struggled to respond to this sudden turn of events. Drawing upon a well of inner strength, her face shifted into a determined expression. She was a summoner, and she would not let it end like this. She raced towards Tidus, not willing to let him go and not caring what the others thought.

"Yuna!" Kimahri cried out.

Hearing Yuna's approach, Tidus turned and held open his arms to sweep her into his embrace, but she passed through his immaterial frame with a ripple of rainbow lights...

...and, unable to halt her momentum, lost her footing on the unexpectedly slippery surface of the airship and careened off the edge with a startled shriek.

A deathly quiet filled the air.

Tidus recovered first and dashed to the edge, frantically searching for any sign of the summoner. Maybe by some miracle she had managed to grab onto something on her way down. She would start calling out to him for help any second now...but there was only the orange fog.

Rikku broke the silence first. "Yunie'll be okay, won't she?" she asked worriedly. "I mean, she can summon–" Remembering the pyreflies currently dancing in the sky, her face fell. "Oh. Right."

The spirits of Braska, Auron and Jecht materialized behind Tidus. Braska stepped up next to the panicked young man and peered mournfully down at the slowly thinning cloud. "We'll be having words about this on the Farplane," he declared, glaring sharply at Tidus. "_Forever_."

"But–" Tidus started to say.

"You're directly responsible for the most ignominious death ever suffered by a summoner in recorded history," Auron interrupted in a disgusted tone. "I hope you're satisfied."

"But–" the blitzball star stammered weakly. "I didn't–"

Jecht crossed his arms and sighed deeply, then shook his head. "I'm disappointed in you, boy," he drawled with a mixture of sadness and anger. "You really screwed the pooch on this one."

Tidus hung his head in shame and defeat. Looking over his shoulder at his former teammates, he saw that they hadn't budged since Yuna's disastrous plunge with the exception of Rikku, who was bawling on the deck. Their expressions ran the gamut from stunned disbelief to mindless rage, and he shrank back at the sight. He stood slowly and stumbled forward on shaky legs, then hurled himself off the airship before anyone could berate him further. Maybe nonexistence wouldn't be so bad after all...but still, it was a hell of a way to end a story.


End file.
